The text does not say what the king asked the woman, but there can be no doubt that the question had to do with the restoration of her son by Elisha. In some languages it may be necessary to translate “the king asked the woman about what happened to her son” or “… questioned her concerning the miracle.”
She told him; that is, she told him that it was indeed true that Elisha had restored her son to life. In some cases it will be necessary to say “she told him that it was true” or “she told him everything” (Peregrino, em>Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Or it may be possible to say “she told him all about the miracle.” For the whole first sentence, compare also “The king questioned the woman, who told him the story” (New Jerusalem Bible; similarly Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).
The king appointed an official for her: The Hebrew word translated official is sometimes rendered “eunuch” (2 Kgs 9.32; 20.18). But the term is often used of a trusted official in the court of the king without any reference to his sexuality. Compare 1 Kgs 22.9, where it is rendered “officer.” In this case a person was assigned to take care of the woman and see to it that her complaint was dealt with in such a way that she was satisfied.
All the produce of the fields may be taken as referring to the actual crops that the land had yielded over the past seven years, but it is very unlikely that the crops themselves would have been kept over such a long period of time. The meaning is rather “the value of all the crops that her fields had produced” (Good News Translation) or “all the income from her land” (New International Version). Other translations speak similarly of “all the revenues from her land” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Nouvelle Bible Segond), while New Century Version says “all the money made from her land.”
From the day that she left the land until now: The Hebrew word rendered land may refer simply to the woman’s fields, or it may refer to the land of Israel. Some of the translations that follow the second interpretation make this explicit by saying “from the time she left the country until now” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “from the day she left the country until now” (New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond), or “since the day she left Israel” (Contemporary English Version).
Once again, the direct discourse here is made indirect in Good News Translation. This model should be considered in other languages as well.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .